Confectionery-coating machine



A. L. BAUSMAN.

CONFECTIGNERY COATING MACHINE. APPLlCATldN FILED MAR. 5; I921.

1,407,1 rammed Feb. 21,1922.

g; 1%, if AMQZM j .I'NVENTOR ATTORNEYS' UNITED STTESO'H PATENT OFFICE.

ALONZO LINTON BAUSMAN, or SPRIN FIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, nssrenonmo NATIONAL EQUIPMENT COIVLIQPANY, CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A'

CONEEGTIONERY-COATING,MACHINE.V

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALoNzo LINTON BAUs- MAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Confectionery-Coating Machines, of which the following is a specificationQ This invention relates to improvements in confectionery coating machines of the type wherein the coating material, such as chocolate, for example, issues through a slot in a container to coat the goods. More particularly, the invention is concerned with means for preventing cloggingor restriction of such slot during the coating operation.

One example of such a means is, disclosed inmy prior U. S. Letters Patent No.

1,330,422, granted February 10, 1920. 20 'factorily performs its intended functions The mechanism shown in this patent satisduring the coating operation. When, however, the coating machine-is not in operation the heating'system, which keepsthe coatingi-na fluid condition, ,is' usually turned ofli and the coating hardens. The reciprocatingslot'cleaner then becomes held to the coating container by the frozen coating material and,-if by carelessness the slot cleaner is then set inmotion, damage to the mechanism may result.

This invention seeks to eliminate the possibility of damage under such circumstances and has for its object to provide a means interposed between the reciprocating slot cleaner and its driving mechanismto permit the latter to operate freely even when the former cannot move due to an insurmount able obstruction in its path, usually, although not necessarily always, a hardened condition of the coating material.

The invention, in an embodiment at present preferred, is disclosed for illustrative purposes in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a coating machine embodying the invention; 4

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view thereof with parts broken away; and I Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to these drawings, A represents the casing of a confectionery coating ma Specification of Letterslatent. Pat t d 2 1922' Application filed March 5, 1921. Serial No. 45 ,6 5

chine and B the wire mesh, or otherwise pervlous conveyer on which confectlons C are carried beneaththe shower pan S, whlch is suitably supported, as by bars D, from the casing. Chocolate, or like coating material, may be -fed to pan S by any suit able means, such, for example, as those shown in'the Carlson Patent No. 790,184,v

granted May 16, 1905. The coating material flows from pan S through oneor more slots 5, preferably at l'easttwo, asshown. The coating material falls through slotslfi in streamssubstantially'aswide as the conveyer B and floods the confections C'there- I inunde'r, the excess coating material passing through the pervious' conveyer ,B to be later returned to the shower pan.

' It'has been thought unneces ry t6. h A understanding of th invention, to illustrate the complete coating machine, as 'such machine is generallyjwell understood inv the art and is fully disclosed inthe above-mentioned Carlson patent, to which reference is .made for a disclosure. of such details as' the mounting of the belt and its driving mechanism, the chocolate receptacle, andthe means for supplying the shower pan-therefrom. i

The means for maintaining thedischarge .slots 5 free for, the passage of coating .ma-

terial is'substantially that shown in my prior patent vabove-referred to and; includes one or more-scrapers 6 which reciprocateineach slot 5. Preferably, although not necessarily,

the scrapers for both slots are formed, as shown in Fig. 2, fr0m a single flat thin piece of metal bent intosubstantially the shape of an inverted. U. The cross-bar portwo scrapers 6 are preferably held in the desired spaced relation by a cross bar 21 V which. connects their lower ends. a V

The scrapers 6 are reciprocated by the following mechanism. The bracket 7 is connected by a link 9 with the lower end of a lever 10 pivoted at its upper end to casing A. Mounted in lever 10, intermediate its ends, is an eye 11, which is preferably capable of turning in lever 10, but held against axial displacement therein by the suitable means such as shown in Fig. 3, wherein a set screw 12, threaded into lever 10, engages in a circumferential groove 13 in the shank of eye 11. Passing loosely through eye 11 is a rod 14: and fixed to the 7 rod, one on each side of the eye, are collars .eye 11.

15. Springs 16 are coiled about rod 1 1 and are arranged one between each collar 15 and The rod 14: serves as a link and connects lever 10 to a crank 17, fixed on a shaft 18, suitably supported from casing A A bevel gear 19 fixed to shaft 18 meshes with abevel pinion 2O fixed on a stub shaft each traversing a portion only of a slot.

Thus, a second pair of scrapers 6, exactly similar to those described, are mountedon a similar bracket 7', which in turn is slidable on the guide-bar 8. The bracket 7 is connected to" bracket "7 by means of a rod 19. Preferably, brackets 7 and]? are adjustably connected to rod19, as byset screws 20. Preferably also the scrapers 6 and 6 are movable into close proximity with the right and left hand extremities, respectively,

of slots 5 and the travel oi each slightly overlaps that of the other, so that the entire length of each slot is subjected to the action of a scraper.

In operation, the scraper 6 and 6' will move back and forth in the slots 5 while the machine is in operation'and any lumps lodging in the. slots will be either removed or subdivided, and clogging of the slots from any other cause will be prevented. The scrapersloosely fit slots 5 leavingsome s )ace for the free flow of coatin 'material so that, in practical effect, they no not impede the flow, but rather their continuous motion keep the slots open for the free passage of the desired wide unbroken streams of chocolate.

The collars-'15 are so located-that the crank 17 can revolve continuously while the.

lever 10 is held stationary, alternately compressing the two springs 16. Thus, when the scrapers are held to pan S by hardened coating, the rotation of crank 171will do no damage. Also should one of the scrapers strike a hardlump and push it against an end of the showerrpan S Without beingable to break it up, no damage to the scrapers, or their connected parts, would result. The strength of springs 16 is so gauged that under normal operating conditions they do not compress .to any great extent and the lever 10 and rod l lnormallyoperate asif rigidly connected together.

This invention has been disclosed herein, in an embodiment at present preferred, for illustrative purposes, butthe scope .or the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.

What I claim is,

1. In a confectionery coating machine, a

feeding device, including afslot for the dis charge of coating materiahmovable means to traverse saidslot and maintain affree passage for the coating material,.driving mechanism for said means including means 5 permitting the former to operate without actuating the first-named means .Whenever the latter is prevented from moving.

2. In a. c onfect onerycoating machine,;a feeding device, includmg a slot for the discharge of coating material, m'ovableflmeans' to traverse said slot and maintain a free passage for the coating material, driving mechanism, and connections between said mechanism and saidimeans to reciprocate the latter, and devicesinterposed in said connections'to yield after said means exerts a predetermined degreeof efii'ort in either direction and allowsaid mechanism to con-- ALONZO LINTzON BAUSM'AN.

'tinue to operate without moving said means 

